4. 'the history' of herodotus, pp. 2-6

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T he H istory of H erodotus

HERODOTUS

W

HEN Cicero called Herodotus the Father of History he meant that the Greek

was the first to conceive an historical work in an artistic and dramatically unified

form. In subordination to this

moti

he worked up a vast mass of antiquarian and

ethnological lore. His History tak es us down to 478 B.C. Its dram atic crisis is the

destruction of the power of Persia by a handful of Greeks at Thermopylae, Salamis

and Mycale; its lesson, that of the Nemesis falling on those who, drunk with pride of

power, forget the restrictions of mortality.

I—THE WESTWARD THRUST OF PERSIAN POWER

I

WILL

not dispute whether those an-

cient tales be true, of Io and Helen

and the like, which one or another

have called the sources of the war be-

tween the Hellenes and the barbarians of

Asia; but I will begin with those wrongs

whereof I myself have knowledge. In

the days of Sady attes, king of L ydia, and

his son Alyattes, there was war between

L ydia and M iletus. And Croesus made

himself master of the lands bounded by

the Halys, and he waxed in power and

wealth, so that there was none like him.

To him came Solon, the Athenian, but

would not hail him as the happiest of all

men, saying that none may be called

happy until his life s end.

Thereafter trouble fell upon Croesus

by the slaying of his son when he was

hunting. The n Cyrus the Persian rose

up and made himself master of the Medes

and Persians, and Croesus, fearing his

power, was fain to go up against him,

being deceived by an oracle; but first he

sought to make alliance with the chief of

the state s of Hella s. In those days,

Pisistratus was despot of Athens; but

Sparta was mighty, by the laws of L ycur-

gus. The refore Croesus sent envoys to

the Spartans to make alliance with them,

which was done very willingly. But when

Croesus went up against Cyrus, his army

was put to flight, and Cyrus besieged him

in the city of Sardis, and took it, and

mad e himself lord of L ydia. He would

have slain Croesus, but, finding him wise

and pious, he made him his counsellor.

Now this Cyrus had before overthrown

the Median king, Astyages, whose daugh-

ter was his own mo ther. For her father,

fearing a dream, wedded her to a Per-

sian, and when she bore a child, he gave

order for its slaying. Bu t the babe was

taken away and brought up by a herds-

man of the hill-folk. Bu t in course of

time the truth became known to Astyages,

and to Harpagus, the officer who had

been bidden to slay the babe, and to

Cyrus himself. Then Harpag us, fearing

the wrath of Astyages, bade Cyrus gather

together the Persians—who in those days

were a hardy people of the mountains—

and make himself king over the Medians;

which things Cyrus did, overthrowing his

grand father Astya ges. And it was in this

wise that the dominion of the Persians

began.

The Ionian cities of Asia were zealous

to make alliance with Cyrus when he

had overthrown Croesus. But he held

them of little account, and threatened

them, and the L acedaemonians also, who

sent him messengers warning him to let

the Ionians alone. And he sent Har-

pagus against the cities of the Ionians,

of whom certain Phocaeans and Teians

sailed away to Rhegium and Abdera

rather than become the slaves of the bar-

barians; but the rest, though they fought

valiantly enough, were brought to sub-

mission by Harpagus.

W

HILE

Harpagus was completing the

subjugation of the West, Cyrus

was making conquest of Upper Asia, and

overthrew the kingdom of Assyria, of

which the chief city was Babylon, a very

wonderful city, wherein there had ruled

two famous queens, Semiramis and

Nitocris. Now, this queen had made the

city wondrous strong by the craft of engi-

neers, yet Cyrus took it by a shrewd

device, drawing off the water of the river

so as to gain a passage. Th us B abylon

also fell under the sway of the Persian.

But when Cyrus would have made war



upon Tomyris , the queen of the Massa-

getae,

who

dwelt

to the

eastward, there

was

a

great battle,

and

Cyrus himself

was slain and the most part of his host.

And Cambyses,

his son

reigned

in his

stead.

II—CAMBYSES CARRIES

THE

CONQUEST INTO EGYPT

/ ^IAMBYSES set out to

conquer Egypt,

V_>l taking in his army certain of the

Greeks.

But of

what

I

shall tell about

that land,

the

most

was

told

to me by the

priests whom I myself visited at Memphis

and Thebes

and

Heliopolis.

The

Egyp-

tians account themselves

the

most ancient

of peoples. If the Ionians are right, who

reckon that Egypt

is

only

the

Nile Delta,

this could

not be. But I

reckon that

the

whole Egyptian territory is Egypt, from

the Cataracts

and

Elephantine down

to

th e

sea

parted into

the

Asiatic part

and

the Libyan part by the Nile.

For the causes of the rising and falling

of

the

Nile,

the

reasons that

men

give

are

of no

account.

And of the

sources

whence the river springs are strange

stories told,

of

which

I say not

whether

they be true or false; but the course of

it is known for four months journey by

land

and

water,

and in my

opinion

it is a

river comparable to the Ister.

The priests tell that

the

first ruler

of

Egypt was Menes, and after him were

three hundred and thirty kings, counting

one queen,

who was

called Nitocris. After

them came Sesostris, who carried his con-

quest as far as the Thracians and Scyth-

ians;

and

later

was

Rhampsini tus,

who

married his daughter to the clever thief

that robbed

his

treasure-house;

and

after

him Cheops,

who

built

the

pyramid, draw-

ing the stones from the Arabian mountain

down

to the

Nile. Cheph ren also,

and

Mycerinus built pyramids,

and the

Greeks

have a story—which is not t rue—that an-

other

was

built

by

Rhodopis.

And in the

reign

of

Sethon, Egypt

was

invaded

by

Sennacherib the Assyrian, whose army s

bowstrings were eaten

by

field-mice.

A thing more wonderful than

the

pyra-

mids

is the

labyrinth near L ake M oeris,

and still more wonderful

is

L ake Moeris

itself

all

which were made

by the

twelve

kings who ruled at once after Sethon.

And after them, Psammitichus made

him-

self

the

monarch;

and

after

him his

great-

grandson Apries prospered greatly, till he

was overthrown

by

Amasis.

And

Amasis

also prospered,

and

showed favour

to the

Greeks. But for whatever reason, in his

day Cambyses made

his

expedition against

Egypt, invading

it

just when Amasis

had

died, and his son Psammenitus was reign-

ing.

C

AMBYSES put the Egyptian army to

route

in a

great battle

and

conquered

the country, making Psammenitus pris-

oner. Yet he would have set him up as

governor

of the

province, according

to

the Persian custom, but that Psammenitus

was stirred up to revolt and being dis-

covered,

was put to

death. Thereafter

Cambyses would have made war upon

Carthage, but that the Phoenicians would

not

aid him; and

against

the

Ethiopians,

who are called long-lived, but his army

could

get no

food;

and

against

the Am-

monians,

but the

troops that went were

seen no more.

Now, madness came upon Cambyses,

an d

he

died, having committed many

crimes, among which was the slaying of

his brother Smerdis.

And

there rose

up

one among

the

Magi

who

pretended

to be

Smerdis, and was proclaimed king. But

this false Smerdis

was one

whose ears

had been cut off and he was thus found

out by one of his wives, the daughter

of

a

Persian nobleman, Otane s. Then

seven nobles conspired together, since

they would not be ruled over by one of

the Magi;

and

having determined that

it was best to have one man for ruler,

rather than the rule of the people or of

the nobles, they slew Smerdis,

and

made

Darius, the son of Hystaspes, their king.

Then Darius divided the Persian em-

pire into twenty satrapies, whereof each

one paid

its own

tribute, save Persia

it-

self

and he was lord of all Asia, and

Egypt also.

In

the

days

of

Cambyses, Polycrates

was despot

of

Samos, being

the

first

who

ever thought to make himself a ruler of

the seas.

And he had

prospered

mar-

vellously.

But

Oroetes,

the

satrap

of

Sardis, compassed his death by foul

treachery,

and

wrought many other

crimes; whom Darius in turn put to

death by guile, fearing to make open war

upon

him. And not

long afterwards,

he

sent Otanes to make conquest of Samos.

And during the same days there was a



revolt of the Babylonians; and Darius

went up against Babylon, yet for twenty

months he could not take it.

Howbeit, Babylon was taken by the act

of Zopyrus, who, having mutilated him-

self

went to the Babylonians and tolc

them that Darius had thus evilly en

treated him, and so, winning their trust

he made easy entry for the Persian army

and Babylon was taken for the second time

III—D RIUS ND HIS RMY CROSS THE D NUBE

N

ow, Darius was minded to make con-

quest of the Scythians—concerning

which people, and the lands beyond those

which they inhabit, there are many mar-

vels told, as of a bald-headed folk called

Argippaei; and the Arimaspians or one-

eyed people; and the Hyperborean land

whe re the air is full of feathers . Of these

lands are legends only; nothing is known.

But concerning the ear th s surface, th is

much is known, that L ibya is surrounded

by water, certain Phoenicians having

sailed round it. And of the unknown

regions of Asia much was searched out by

order of Darius.

The Scythians themselves have no

cities;

but there are great rivers in

Scythia, whereof the Ister is the greatest

of all known streams, being greater even

than the Nile, if we reckon its tributaries.

The great god of the Scythians is Ares;

and their war customs are savage exceed-

ingly, and all their ways barbarous.

Against this folk Darius resolved to

march.

His plan was to convey his army across

the Bosporus on a bridge of boats, while

the Ionian fleet should sail up to the Ister

and bridge that and await him. So he

crossed the Bosporus and marched

through Thrace, subduing on his way the

Getae, who believe that there is no true

death.

But when he passed the Ister, he would

have taken the Ionians along with him;

but by counsel of Coes of Mitylene, he

resolved to leave them in charge of the

bridge, giving order that, after sixty days,

they might depart home, but no sooner.

T

HEN the Scythians, fearing that they

could not match the great king s

army, summoned the other barbaric peo-

ples to their aid; among whom were the

Sauromatians, who are fabled to be the

offspring of the Am azon s. And some

•were willing, bu t oth ers no t. Th eref ore

the Scythians retired before Darius, first

towards those peoples who would not

come to their help; and so enticed him

into desert regions, yet would in no wise

come to battle with him.

Now, at length, Darius found himself

in so evil a plight that he began to march

back to the Ister . And certain Scythians

came to the Ionians and counselled themi

to destroy the bridge, the sixty days

being passed. And this M iltiades, the

Athenian despot of the Chersonese, would

have had them do, so that Darius might

perish with all his army; but Histiaeus

of Miletus dissuaded them, because the

rule of the despots was upheld by Darius.

And thus the Persian army was saved,

Megabazus being left in Europe to subdue

the Hellespontines. Wh en Megabazus

had subdued many of the Thracian peo-

ples,

who, indeed, lack only union with

each other to make them the mightiest

of all nations, he sent an embassy to

Amyntas, the king of Macedon, to de-

mand earth and water. But because those

envoys insulted the ladies of the court,

Alexander, the son of Amyntas, slew

them all, and of them or all their train

naught was heard more.

N

ow Darius, with fair words, bade

Histiaeus of Miletus abide with him

at the royal town of Susa. The n Arista-

goras,

the brother of Histiaeus, having

failed in an attempt to subdue Naxos,

and fearing both Artaphernes, the satrap

of Sardis, and the Persian general Mega-

bazus,

with whom he had quarrelled,

sought to stir up a revolt of the Ionian

cities; being incited thereto by secret

messages from Histiaeus.

To this end he sought alliance with the

L acedaemonians; but they would have

nothing to do with him, deeming the

venture too remote. Then he went to

Athens, whence the sons of Pisistratus

had been driven forth just before. For

Hipparchus had been slain by Harmodius

and Aristogiton, and afterwards Hippias

would hardly have been expelled but that

his enemies captured his children and so

could make with him what terms they

chose. But the Pisistra tidae having been



expelled, the city grew in might, and

changes were made in the government of

it by Clisthenes the Alcmaeonid. But

the party that was against Clisthenes got

aid from Cleomenes of Sparta; yet the

party of Clisthenes won.

Then, since they reckoned that there

would be war with Sparta, the Athenians

had sought friendship with Artaphernes

at Sardis; but since he demanded earth

and wa ter they broke off. But because

Athens was waxing in strength, the Spar-

tans bethought them of restoring the

despotism of the Pisistratidae. But

Sosicles, the Corinthian, dissuaded the

allies of Sparta from taking part in so

evil a deed. The n Hippias sought to stir

up against the Athenians the ill-will of

Artaphernes, who bade them take back

the Pisistratidae, which they would not

do .

Therefore, when Aristagoras came

thither, the Athenians were readily per-

suaded to promise him aid. And he,

having gathered the troops of the Ion-

ians, who were at one with him, marched

with them and the Athenians against

Sardis and took the city, which by a

chance was set on fire. Bu t after tha t

the Athenians refused further help to the

Ionians, who were worsted by the Per-

sians. But the ruin of the Ionia ns was

at the sea-fight of L ade, where th e men

of Chios fought stoutly; but, they of

Samos and L esbos deserting, there was a

great rout.

IV—THE KNELL

OF

PERSIA S HOPE

T

MARATHON

N D

THERMOPYLAE

T

HEREAFTER

King Darius, being very

wroth with the Athenians for their

share in the burning of Sardis, sent a

great army across the Hellespont to march

through Thrace against Athens, under his

young kinsman M ardonius. But disaster

befell these at the hands of the Thra-

cians, and the fleet that was to aid them

was shattered in a storm; so that they

returned to Asia withou t honour. Then

Darius sent envoys to demand earth and

water from the Greek states; and of the

islands the most gave them, and some also

of the cities on the mainland; and among

these were the Aeginetans, which were at

feud with Athens.

But of those who would not give the

earth and water were the Eretrians of

Euboea. So Da rius sent a great arma-

ment by sea against Eretria and Athens,

led by Datis and Artaphernes, which

sailed first against Eretria . The Athen-

ians, indeed, sent aid; but when they

found that the counsels of the Eretrians

were divided, so that no firm stand might

be ma de, they withdrew. Nevertheless,

the Eretrians fought valiantly behind

their walls, till they were betrayed on the

seventh day. But the Persians, coun-

selled by Hippias, sailed to the bay of

Mara thon .

T

HEN the Athenians sent the strong

runner Pheidippides to call upon the

Spartans for aid; who promised it, yet

for sacred reasons would not move until

the full moo n. So the Athenian host

had none to aid them save the loyal

Plataeans, valiant though few. Ye t in

the council of their generals the word of

Miltiades was given for battle, whereto

the rest consented. The n the Athenians

and Plataeans, being drawn up in a long

line, charged across the plain nigh a

mile, running upon the masses of the

Persians; and, breaking them upon the

wings, turned and routed the centre also

after long fighting, and drove them down

to the ships, slaying as they went; and of

the ships they took seven. And of the

barbarians there fell 6,400 men, and of

the Athe nians, 192. Bu t as for the story

that the Alcmaeonidae hoisted a friendly

signal to the Persians, I credit it not at

all.

Now, Darius was very wroth with the

Greeks when he heard of these things,

and made preparation for a mighty arma-

ment to overthrow the Greeks, and also

the Egyptians, who revolted soon after-

ward s. But he died before he was ready ,

and Xerxes, his son, reigned in his stead.

Then, having first crushed the Egyptians,

he , being ruled by Mardonius, gathered

a council and declared his intent of

marching against the Hellenes; which

resolution was commended by Mardonius,

but Artabanus, the king s uncle, spoke

wise words of warning. Th en Xerxes

would have changed his mind, but for a

dream which came to him twice, and to

Artabanus also, threatening disaster if he

ceased from his project; so that Arta-

banus was won over.



T

HE N Xerxes made vast provision for

his invasion—for the building of a

bridge over the Hellespont, and the cut-

ting of a canal through the peninsula of

Athos, where the fleet of Mardonius had

been shattere d. And from all pa rts of his

huge empire he mustered his hosts first in

Cappadocia, and marched thence by way

of Sardis to the Hellesp ont. And be-

cause, when the bridge was a-building, a

great storm wrecked it, he bade flog the

naugh ty waves of the sea. Then, the

bridge being finished, he passed over with

his host, which took seven days to ac-

complish.

And when they were come to Doriscus

he numbered them, and found them to be

1 700 000

me n, besides his fleets. And in

the fleet were 1,207 great ships, manned

chiefly by the Phoenicians and the

Greeks of Asia, having also Persian and

Scythian fighting men on boa rd. But

when Demaratus, an exiled king of Sparta,

warned Xerxes of the valour of all the

Greeks, but chiefly of the Spartans, who

would give battle, however few they

might be, against any foe, however many,

his words seemed to Xerxes a jest, seeing

how huge his own army was.

N

ow, Xerxes had sent to many of the

Greek states heralds to demand

earth and water, which many had given;

but to Athens and Sparta he had not

sent, because there the heralds of his

father Darius had been evilly entreated.

And if it had not been for the resolution

of the Athenians at this time, all Hellas

would have been forced to submit to the

Great King; for they, in despite of threat-

ening oracles, held fast to their defiance,

being urged thereto by Themistocles, who

showed them how those oracles must

mean that, although they would suffer

evil things, they would be victorious by

means of wooden bulwarks, which is to

say, ships; and thus they were encour-

aged to rely upon building and manning

a migh ty fleet. And all the other cities

of Greece resolved to stand by them,

except the Argives, who would not submit

to the leadership of the Spartan s. Nor

were the men of Thessaly willing to join,

since the other Greeks could not help

them to guard Thessaly

itself.

Therefore, the Greeks resolved to

make their stand at Thermopylae on land,

and at the strait of Artemisium by sea.

But at the strong pass of Thermopylae

only a small force was gathered to hold

the barbarians in check, there being of

the Spartans themselves only 300, com-

manded by the king L eonidas. And when

the Persians had come thither and sought

to storm the pass, they were beaten back

with ease, until a track was found by

which they might take the defenders in

the rear. Then L eonidas bade the rest

of the army depart except his Spartans.

But the Thespians also would not go; and

then those Spartans and Thespians went

out into the open and died gloriously.

V—FINAL

DESTRUCTION OF THE PERSIAN HOSTS

D

URING

these same days the Greek

fleet at Artemisium fought three

several engagements with the Persian

fleet, in which neither side had much the

better. And thereafter the Greek fleet

withdrew, but was persuaded to remain

undispersed in the bay of Salamis. Th e

Peloponnesians were no longer minded to

attempt the defence of Attica, but to

fortify their isthmus, so that the Athe-

nians had no choice but either to submit

or to evacuate Athens, removing their

families and their goods to Troezen or

Aegina or Salamis. In the fleet, their

contingent was by far the largest and

best, but the commanding admiral was

the Spartan Euryb iades. The n the Per-

sians,

passing through Boeotia, but, being

dispersed before Delphi by thunderbolts

and other portents, took possession of

Athens, after a fierce fight with the garri-

son in the Acropolis.

Then the rest of the Greek fleet was

fain to withdraw from Salamis, and look

to the safety of the Peloponnese only.

But Themistocles warned them that if

they did so, the Athenians would leave

them and sail to new lands and make

themselves a new Athens; and thus the

fleet was persuaded to hold together at

Salamis. Ye t he did no t tru st only to

their goodwill, but sent a messenger to

the Persian fleet that the way of retreat

might be intercepted. For the Persian

fleet had gathered at Ph alerum, and now

looked to overwhelm the Grecian fleet

altogether, despite the adverse counsel of

Queen Artemisia of Halicarnassus.

When Aristides, called the Just, the great

rival of Themistocles, told the Greeks



that their retreat by sea was cut off, then

they were no longer divided, but resolved

to fight it out.

In the battle, the Aeginetans and the

Athenians did the best of all the Greeks,

and Themistocles best among the com-

manders; nor was ever any fleet more

utterly put to rout than that of the Per-

sians,

among whom Queen Artemisia won

praise unm erited. As for King Xerxe s,

panic seized him when he saw the disaster

to his fleet, and he made haste to flee.

He consented, however, to leave Mar-

donius behind with 300,000 troops in

Thessaly, he being still assured that he

could crush the Greeks.

When the winter and spring were

jassed, Mardonius marched from Thessaly

and again occupied Athens, which the

Athenians had again evacuated, the Spar-

tans having failed to send succour. But

when at length the L acedaemo nians, fear-

ing to lose the Athenian fleet, sent forth

an army, the Persians fell back to Boeo-

tia. So the Greek hosts gathered near

Plataea to the number of 108,000 men,

but the troops of Mardonius were about

350,000. Ye t, by reason of doub tful

auguries, both armies held back, till Mar-

donius resolved to attack, whereof warn-

ing was brought to the Athenians by

Alexander of Macedon.

But when the Spartan Pausanias, the

general of the Greeks, heard of this, he

did what caused no little wonder, for he

proposed that the Athenians instead of

the L acedaemonians should face the

picked troops of the Persians, as having

fought them at M arathon. But Mar-

donius, seeing them move, moved also.

Then he sent some light horse against

the Greeks by a fountain whence flowed

the arm y s wa ter; which, becoming

choked, it was needful to move to a new

position. The move being at night, most

of the allies withdrew into the town.

But the Spartans and Tegeans and Athe-

nians,

perceiving this, held each their

ground till dawn.

N

ow, in the morning the picked Per-

sian troops fell on the Spartans, and

their Grecian allies attacked the Athe-

nians.

But, Ma rdonius being slain, the

Persians fled to their camp, which was

stormed by the Spartans and Tegeans,

and the Athenians, who also had routed

their foes; and there the barbarians were

slaughtered, so that of 300,000 men not

3,000 were left alive. Bu t Arta ban us,

who, before the battle, had withdrawn

with 40,000 men, escaped hurriedly to

the Hellespont.

And on the same day was fought an-

other fight by sea at Mycale in Ionia,

where also the barbarians were utterly

routed, for the fleet had sailed thither.

And thence the Greeks sailed to Sestos,

attacked and captured the place, and so

went home.

History of the Peloponnesian War

THUCYDIDES

A

T the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C. Thucydides began to w rite a

. history of the conflict. His History in eight books gives an account of the hostilities

to 411 B.C., but the war, a twenty-seven years struggle between Athens and Sparta for

the hegemony of the Greek world, did not end until the surrender of Athens to L ysander

in 404. The work is remarkable chiefly for its analysis of the causes that underlay

the events recorded. In this respect Thucydides was the first and remains the greatest

of philosophical historians. His History contains some fine descriptive passages, and

in the substantially authentic summaries of speeches attributed to various prominent

men on both sides, some magnificent declamations.

I—THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR

I

HAVE

written the account of the war

between Athens and Sparta, since it

is the greatest and most calamitous

of all wars hith erto to the Greeks. Fo r

the contest with the Medes was decided

in four battles; but this war was pro-

tracted over many years, and wrought

infinite injury and bloodshed.

Of the immediate causes of the war

the first is to be found in the affairs of

4. 'the history' of herodotus, pp. 2-6

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